THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES

Years ago I heard a speech by Forest Thigpen with the Mississippi Center for Public Policy. He educated the audience on how to determine if something was a Right or a Privilege. Today politicians and citizens alike say we have a right to: healthcare, health insurance, to drive, a cell phone, internet, higher education, free speech, not be offended, religion, guns, own property, vote, life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, happiness and a bunch of other stuff. Citizens and politicians need to understand the difference between Rights and Privileges because the two must be treated differently.

A right is guaranteed to all citizens and ultimately comes from God. One person cannot deny another person one of their rights. Also, one person’s rights do not limit another person’s rights. Government does not grant rights but it should protect them. The most important test in determining the difference between rights and privileges is that all rights are FREE! This is where the logic of many breaks down. For you to assert your freedom of speech does not cost me a penny. If you decide to purchase a gun, it costs me nothing. If you legally buy property, worship the god of your choice or pay for your college it cost me nothing. I nor the government should ever be allowed to limit your rights unless you limit the rights of others.

Would getting a driver’s license be a right? If you pay for a driver’s license it cost me nothing. If you are blind and drove you would certainly cost me money directly or indirectly. So driving is a privilege that is denied to some due to age, mental or physical limitation. It is also a privilege that can be lost.

What about health care? The former Speaker of the House said that the health care reform bill was constitutional because life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness were rights written in the US Constitution. Let’s put this to the test? If I needed medicine that cost $100.00 a month and I did not have the money I could take the money from you. That would be considered stealing and I would go to jail. If I hired a third party to threaten you each month if you did not pay me the $100.00 we would go to jail for extortion. If the government takes the money from you, punishes you if you do not pay, and gives me your money for the medicine we call that compassion. In truth compassion would be if I willingly gave you the money for the medicine. Healthcare falls into the privilege category, but having the freedom to go to the available doctor of your choice would be a right because it cost me nothing. This new healthcare law steals money from some people and gives it to others. It also denies every person access to selected medical treatment even if they have the money to pay for it. The law actually denies the right to life. This is the worst kind of privilege because it is granted to some by violating the rights of others.

Citizens and politicians at every level of government need to be educated of what rights and privileges are. We all must demand that government’s role is to protect rights and fairly grant privileges. If this truth was applied by our politicians the size of government and government spending would be a small fraction of what it is today. Freedom and prosperity would be much higher in our nation. Personal responsibility would be the standard. People would have more to give to charity to help the needy. For the majority of this nation’s history this was the standard. We must return to this standard if our nation is to survive.